What is feed quality? High-quality animal feed retains its nutritional value and visual appearance from the day it is harvested until the day it is consumed. Maintaining the nutritional value and quality of feed takes more than just proper handling and storage practices, however. To maintain feed value, producers must look for additional solutions such as fat and oil stabilizers, acid stabilizers and grain and feed storage enhancers.
Swine Feed Quality – Managing Challenges from Molds, Mycotoxins and Lipid Oxidation
Molds and Mycotoxins
For swine producers, one of the biggest challenges faced in providing complete nutrition is the presence of mold and mycotoxins. The major fungi causing frequent and problematic contamination of foods and feeds with mycotoxins are members of the fungal genera Aspergillus, Fusarium and Penicillium.1,2 Mycotoxin contamination is considered an unavoidable and unpredictable problem, even where good agricultural, storage and processing practices are implemented – ultimately posing a difficult challenge to food safety.3
To assist swine producers in controlling mold growth during storage and processing of feed and feed ingredients, Kemin offers a full line of grain and feed treatment options. Kemin also offers an enhanced zeolite mineral flow agent which supports performance by reducing the harmful effects of naturally-occurring fungal metabolites found in feeds.
Lipid Oxidation
When it comes to formulating diets, maximizing energy value and nutrient uptake are critical for animal performance. Unfortunately for swine nutritionists, lipid sources used in feed formulations today – animal fats, vegetable oils, blended fats and by-product oils – are not all created equal. These lipids vary not only in their physical and chemical properties but also in their susceptibility to oxidation – a major cause of decreased fat quality.
